This invention relates generally to the field of game controllers, and more specifically, to mapping user interactions with an array of sensors on the controller to a set of hand positions.
Input devices such as game controllers allow users to interface with applications such as games and multimedia applications on a computing device. Controls on these input devices may include analog sticks, buttons, gyroscopes, and similar controls to identify user interactions with the controller.
However, these devices lack the accuracy and precision to be able to correctly detect a user's hand position on a controller and reproducibly map them to defined hand positions for use in an application. That is, these controllers generally cannot tell how a user is holding the controller, how many fingers are present on the controller, whether the user has one or more fingers off of the controller housing, and so forth. Different users will have different finger sizes, palm shapes, and patterns of orienting their hand for a particular hand position, which makes accurately detecting such hand positions difficult. Without input devices to accurately determine hand positions of a user, an application cannot incorporate the actual way that a user interacts with the controller into use of the application.
Recent developments and applications of virtual reality technology also contribute to the increased need for input devices with superior accuracy and precision in identifying user hand positions. For example, developers are increasingly creating non-gaming virtual reality applications such as medical training simulations. These medical simulations benefit from the input device being able to correctly track a trainee's intended interaction with virtual medical tools.